Bearcats beat up Marlette, prep for stretch run of season

Published 1:24 pm, Monday, April 25, 2016

The Bearcats' offense and defense finally got on the same page with a 43-16 Greater Thumb East decision over Marlette on Homecoming.

"We did a lot of things better tonight," said

Ubly coach Bill Sweeney. "If we would have played like this offensively against Sandusky… We played great defense against Sandusky, we've just been riddled with mistakes all year."

Sweeney was especially pleased with the running game which netted 363 yards, led by Mike Soule with 183 yards and three touchdowns (7, 12, 25 yards) on 22 carries.

Nic Wasierski and Jeremy Mausolf also turned in fine performances as Wasierski gained 82 yards on 13 totes while Mausolf had 72 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries. He also caught a 15-yard touchdown pass from Joel Maurer.

"It helped tonight that Nic Wasierski and Jeremy Mausolf ran well, too. It opened things up," Sweeney said. "A lot of people have been struggling to move the ball on the ground against Marlette, and we moved the ball tonight on them."

Ubly got on the board quickly, scoring on three of its first four possessions en route to building a 21-0 halftime edge.

In the third, it looked like the rout was on as Mausolf scored on a 2-yard run, making it 29-0 with 9:28 to play.

Marlette finally scored when Mike Maher hooked up with Scott Dunsford on a 51-yard touchdown strike.

Early in the fourth, the Red Raiders made it even closer when Maher found Dunsford again, this time from 68 yards, making it 29-16 with 9:31 to play in the game.

The Bearcats put the contest out of reach on their next possession when Soule capped his night with a 15-yard burst on a fourth down. Jacob Messing finished off the scoring for Ubly with a 3-yard run.

Sweeney was happy with the way the defense was able to respond to Marlette's spread offense, which saw Maher complete 18-of-31 passes for 251 yards with the two touchdowns and two interceptions.

"(Coach) Jim (Becker) does a wonderful job," Sweeney said. "He spends a lot of time charting every play, and came up with a real good gameplan out of our defense.

"We play good defense, so if we can take care of the ball and not have a bunch of turnovers, we should be in most ball games we play."

This was just the second home game for Ubly. The team has to play on the road once more - at Harbor Beach on Oct. 15 - and plays Mayville at home next week before finishing the season with Bad Axe.

"Let's face it, we've been on the road four of the first five games, and they haven't been the easiest places to play," Sweeney said, referring to games at Reese, Brown City and Sandusky.

At 4-2, the Bearcats need to win two of those final three games to guarantee a fourth straight trip to the playoffs.

"We just have to keep improving. We took care of our mistakes today, and that's huge for us," Sweeney said. "If we can keep taking care of mistakes and play good defense, we should be fine."